A kunya is a component of an Arabic name, a type of epithet, in theory referring to the bearer's first-born son or daughter. By extension, it may also have hypothetical or metaphorical references, e.g. in a nom de guerre or a nickname, without literally referring to a son or a daughter.[3] Use of a kunya implies a familiar but respectful setting.

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Abū (father) or Umm (mother) precedes the son's or daughter's name, in a genitive construction (ʼiḍāfa). For example, the English equivalent would be to call a man whose eldest son is named John, "Father of John". Use of the kunya normally signifies some closeness between the speaker and the person so addressed, but is more polite than use of the first name. The kunya is also frequently used with reference to politicians and other celebrities to indicate respect.

A kunya may also be a nickname expressing the attachment of an individual to a certain thing, as in Abu Bakr, "father of the camel foal", given because of this person's love for camels.

When also using a person's own birth name, the kunya will precede the proper name. Thus: abū Māzin Maħmūd, for "Mahmud, the father of Mazen" (as, for example, for Mahmoud Abbas). In Classical Arabic, but not in any of the spoken dialects, abū can change into the forms abā and abī (accusative and genitive, respectively), depending on the position of the kunya in the sentence.

Men who do not yet have a child are often addressed by a made-up kunya. Most often the name chosen comes from a popular name in history, the man choosing his own kunya, although sometimes it would be the name of his father.

But Mahmoud Abbas is known by the name (abū mazin / abū mazen), and his son was named Mazen.

This usage of the kunya as a nom de guerre has gained currency outside of the Palestinian movement, and is now often used by Arab guerrillas and clandestine operators. Examples of this include the Lebanese leaders Abu Anis (used by George Hawi during the Lebanese Civil War), Abu Arz (Etienne Saqr), and Abu Nidal ("father of struggle").